If Biron is in actual jeopardy of losing his spot, it’s because of the Rangers’ cap squeeze. Biron is carrying a $1.3-million cap hit while Talbot is under contract for $562,500 and Hedberg presumably would be willing to sign a deal in the neighborhood of $750,000.

Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky both are interested as taking over for John Tortorella as the next coach of the Rangers, The Post has confirmed. After Tortorella was fired on Wednesday, a slew of possible candidates arose from both inside and outside the organization. Messier was the one name being mentioned that didn’t have a day of professional head coaching experience, while Gretzky hasn’t coached since he was behind the Coyotes’ bench in 2009.

Included in that evaluation must be whether John Tortorella is still the right coach for this group or whether his message has gone stale. Brad Richards, a shell of his former All-Star self this season, must also occupy the organizational thoughts. The Rangers have one more amnesty buyout available, and Richards, 32, counts $6.667 million against the annual salary cap through 2020.

The Rangers have approximately $5.3 million of space available that will equate to the neighborhood of $7.25 million at the deadline, barring moves in the interim. This includes the $700,000 allotted to Mats Zuccarello but does not factor in Jesper Fast’s $900,000 hit that will begin to toll when the Swedish winger joins the roster.

We all know the Rangers are looking to add with the NHL trade deadline two weeks from today. General manager Glen Sather is in the market for a right-handed defenseman, the club would like to bulk up on the wing and sure would like to add some scoring punch to boot.

The problem, though, is the Rangers have a limited pool of quality players available for barter. Marian Gaborik is more a Blueshirt than a blue chip.

Maybe not by the April 3 trade deadline, though there are plenty of whispers the Rangers are gauging the market’s interest in Marian Gaborik. Maybe not until this off-season. Or maybe not until the inconsistent scorer’s five-year, $37.5 million contract expires following the 2013-14 season, since a new deal seems implausible.

THIS N’ THAT: The talk has increased in the last few days as the schedule hits the halfway point and teams are starting to get desperate to make moves. Sources say the Rangers, Flames and Philadelphia Flyers are among those making phone calls. “Teams are thinking they’ve got to do something now if they’re going to stand a chance,” said a league executive Friday … The Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Senators are among several teams looking for a defenceman before the April 3 deadline … The Penguins won’t have C Evgeni Malkin back from a concussion Saturday vs. the Montreal Canadiens Saturday at the Bell Centre, but he is making progress. Many GMs think Pittsburgh’s Ray Shero will deal for Calgary’s Jarome Iginla.

The Hobbit just might bounce back from overseas to provide the Rangers with a March spark for their power play the way he did last season.

General manager Glen Sather told The Post he intends to talk to Mats Zuccarello about returning from Russia to New York once the 25-year-old winger’s season ends with Mettalurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.

Rick Nash hasn’t practiced or played in eight days due to an undisclosed injury. He skipped last week’s Rangers road trip to Canada. But his absence from Monday morning’s practice in Greenburgh after a scheduled off-day raised the warning level to code red that his injury could be a concussion and therefore a long-term issue.

The 28-year-old forward is eligible to come off injured reserve for Tuesday’s home game against the Winnipeg Jets, just as fourth-liner Darroll Powe (concussion) did by practicing Monday following a three-game absence. But Nash not only wasn’t on the ice in Greenburgh; he was nowhere in sight.

“I haven’t looked for him today at all,” John Tortorella said when asked whether Nash were around. “I’m focusing on the guys on the ice. I have a lot of guys on the ice.”

At least defenseman Ryan McDonagh – who also did not practice Monday with an undisclosed injury – was seen receiving treatment from trainers at the team’s Greenburgh facility. The fact McDonagh flew home from Montreal Sunday morning was a good sign, as well, since athletes normally avoid flying if they’re experiencing concussion symptoms (read: Nash last week).